What Is the Story About?
Prem Kumar is an elderly, widowed man, notorious for his affinity towards women in his community. He soon finalises a match – Ishika – for his son Luv, but their marriage plans don’t take off due to a misunderstanding. Strange circumstances force Luv and Prem to stay in Ishika’s household for a few days. Luv and Ishika end up falling for one another, but there’s another romance brewing that could derail their relationship.
Performances?
The biggest disappointment in the film is undoubtedly Annu Kapoor. The film is a great example to prove that even capable actors tend to lose their way with the wrong team. He’s painfully over the top and the brain behind the call to cast him both as a brother and a sister in the film deserves a special place in hell. Sunny Singh is more tolerable and doesn’t go overboard, given his prior experience with non-sensical comedies.
Avneet Kaur’s exaggerated histrionic-driven performance is too on-the-face, lacking in sensitivity. The pick of the lot is the ever dependable Supriya Pathak, the only actor apart from Sunny Singh, who takes enough care to modulate her performance as per audience’s tastes. As Supriya, you notice her innocence, loneliness and her need for a soulmate without missing the film’s comic beats.
Rajpal Yadav is partly funny in a loud role and his vast understanding of humour elevates several ordinary situations in the film. Mushtq Khan, Sudhir Pandey don’t disappoint either.
Analysis
Luv Ki Arrange Marriage endorses a brand of loud, farcical comedy popularised by David Dhawan and Priyadarshan in the 90s and the 2000s and is late into the market by at least two decades. In the hands of a more refined filmmaker who could’ve given it a trendier upgrade, the film would’ve been nothing short of a laugh riot.
Prem Kumar by all means is an insensitive, unlikeable character who uses every opportunity to flirt with women in the guise of friendship (predator alert?). Thankfully, his son Luv too resents his behaviour. The premise – of a romance between an elderly couple coming in the way of their children’s marriage – is ripe with comic potential.
It takes a while to get used to the film’s cacophony. More than its fun quotient, this is a comedy film where you seek a moment of silence as the cast keeps hamming like there’s no tomorrow. The idea of a groom’s family being forced to stay in the girl’s household despite cancelling the marriage appears to be partially inspired by Vishwak Sen’s Telugu film Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam.
Take a moment to look beneath its light-hearted exterior, Luv Ki Arrange Marriage is a rare comedy that speaks of the need for companionship among the elderly lot (much like Maa Nannaku Pelli?). Ishika’s mother – Supriya – is vocal about her desire to tie the knot again. Supriya’s fiancé (Prem) has some competition too – a childhood sweetheart who has been struggling to express his feelings for a classmate for 3 decades.
Subverting the trope of parents being painted as the sacrificial goats in every second film, the children here try to rise to the occasion and stand by their side. However, a major creative blunder is the decision to let the same actor – Annu Kapoor – play two roles, as a brother and a sister. The ‘supposed’ comedy of errors around their similar appearance is filmed in poor taste.
Several redundant characters are introduced into the story pointlessly as if the makers needed more company to create chaos. There’s an unnecessary subplot around an estranged husband who threatens to be a party pooper in the middle of the marriage and another needless thread of a robber who transforms owing to the generosity of a woman.
The pre-climax sequences are even more absurd, where a sister dresses up as her brother to help a younger couple reunite. Amidst this confusion, the director makes space for breakup songs, sangeet numbers too. What the team desperately needed was to relook at the story with a different, relevant sensibility. Luv Ki Arrange Marriage may have a few silver linings but still makes for tedious viewing.
Music and Other Departments?
Too many songs sans much musical value find their way into the film and are instantly forgettable. Arun Prasad does everything to lend a lively character to the visuals and it helps him that the story is all about families, parties and weddings. The film could’ve easily done away with a few subplots and the 120-minute runtime too feels like an assault on the senses.
Highlights?
Performances of Sunny Singh, Supriya Pathak
The main idea behind the premise
Intermittently funny
Drawbacks?
Loud, outdated treatment
Unnecessary subplots, too many redundant characters
Annu Kapoor’s hammy performance
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Luv Ki Arrange Marriage Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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